Nevada gambling in May topped a billion dollars

Despite the closure of the Riviera Hotel and Casino at the beginning of the month, Nevada land gambling operations continued to prosper in May, with revenues rising 3.3 percent y-o-y to over a billion dollars, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

With the Paquino-Mayweather fight bringing crowds to Las Vegas, casinos on the Strip won $601,2 million, a 1.4 percent improvement on the comparative period in 2014 that could have been higher at 5.5 percent, but for baccarat’s 36 percent decline.

Excluding baccarat, underlying gaming revenues in Las Vegas were up 16.6 percent for the month.

Downtown Las Vegas and North Las Vegas casinos saw the biggest percentage increases at about 15 percent each.

The state tax coffers benefited by $62.8 million…a rise of 14 percent.

UBS analyst Robin Farley said that Q2-2015 Las Vegas results are now likely to be up 4.2 percent.